Prometheus was known as the benefactor of mankind for his desire to assist
mortals and give them many beneficial gifts that helped them to survive and live
prosperous lives. The son of Iapetos and Clymene, Prometheus was a god long
before Zeus took the Throne of Eternity and was one of the few titans that did
not fight against Zeus in the Titanomachy.

Prometheusí duty
as a god was to form man from water and earth, and in doing so, gave them each a
gift of strength or speed, craftiness or wisdom, and many other benefactors that
improved their ways of living. The most well-known gift of Prometheus was the
gift of fire which Prometheus stole from Zeusí lightening bolts. He concealed
the fire in a stalk of fennel, and then transported it man. In addition to his
betrayal to Zeus, Prometheus also divided slaughtered animals into two parts,
one being fine meats and the other bones. He wrapped them in such a way that
the bag containing bones looked more desirable than the one with meat, and so
the gods choose to have the one that contained the bones. This trickery also
maddened Zeus.

In turn, Zeus
presented to man a woman, who was named Pandora, and presented her as a bride to
Prometheusí bother Epimetheus. A box with the strict instructions to never open
it came with Pandora, and like a fool, Epimetheus disregarded his brotherís
warning to not accept any gifts from Zeus and wedded Pandora. Pandora opened
the box when her husband was away and unleashed evils such as illnesses and
labor to mankind. In addition, however, to the horrors of Pandoraís Box, hope
was released to the world, as well.

Prometheusí
defiance and betrayal provoked Zeus to have him chained to Mount Caucasus, where
an eagle ate daily from his ever-regenerating liver. As an immortal Titan,
Prometheusí liver grew by night what the eagle had eaten the day before.

Some believe that
he was granted release from his cruel immortality after Heracles shot the Centaur Chiron with a
poisoned arrow. As an immortal, Chiron was unable to die, but wished to, so
Chiron offered himself to Zeus to be killed in the place of prometheus freedom. Others believe
that Prometheus shared valuable information in regards to Zeusí future with Thetis, and when proved to be correct, Zeus showed his gratitude by sending
Heracles to kill the eagle that ate Prometheusí liver and set him free after
thirty thousand years of torture.